On April 28th, 1996, 28-year-old Martin Bryant used a semi-automatic rifle to kill 35 people and injure 23 others in Port Arthur, Australia. The massacre prompted the passage of the National Firearms Agreement (NFA) just twelve days later, which banned semi-automatic and pump-action rifles and shotguns; established a mandatory nationwide gun buyback program; and tightened requirements for licensing, registration, and storage of firearms. Research evaluating the impact of the NFA on firearms suicide, homicide, and mass shootings has been decidedly mixed, with some scholars claiming the legislation significantly reduced gun violence, and others arguing that it had a minimal (if any) effect. Similarly, Americans are divided as to whether Australia’s policy solutions would work in the United States. In a short paper, review the evidence for both sides of the debate, concluding with a discussion as to whether similar policies would be effective in the American context.
Your response should be 5-7 pages (double-spaced, excluding references) with 1” margins and 12-point Times New Roman font. The file name should be “Last Name, GV Assignment.” Be sure to write your response in your own words—paraphrase instead of directly quoting other sources. Cite all sources in APA format, including in-text and as part of a reference page.
Expectations:
Your paper should be divided into four sections:
1. Introduction of the NFA debate (0.5-1 page)
2. Evidence supporting the efficacy of the NFA (2-2.5 pages)
3. Evidence questioning the efficacy of the NFA (2-2.5 pages)
4. Conclusion—would this work in the United States? Why or why not? (0.5-1 page)
Do not quote sources word for word (paraphrase instead). Students that directly quote at least once will lose 20 points.
Cite at least 4 peer-reviewed sources (Peer-reviewed means academic journal articles) on the issue (2 supporting and 2 questioning).
You can cite other sources that are not peer-reviewed, but these must be in addition to the 4 peer-reviewed. Examples of non-peer reviewed sources:
Official government reports
Newspaper articles
Survey organizations (e.g., Pew, Gallup, etc.)
Think-tank reports (e.g., RAND, Urban Institute, etc.)
Non-reputable sources should not be included (e.g., Youtube videos, Wikipedia, etc.)
How to Use In-Text Citations
· Option 1: Use at the end of a complete sentence containing information from the source.
o Example: There is little evidence to suggest that permissive concealed carry laws impact mass shootings (Fridel, 2022).
· Option 2: Mention the author(s) by name within the sentence.
o Example: Fridel and Zimmerman (2019) argue that homicide-suicide has more in common with homicide than with suicide.
· Keep In Mind…
o If there are three or more authors, use “et al.” or “and colleagues”
o Do not write the article title, the journal in which it was published, or the full names of the author(s) in your paper. This information is already in the references section.
o You should use in-text citations when discussing the findings of a study, even if you are not directly quoting it. Any idea that was not originally yours should be cited.
o You can cite specific statistics from another source in-text without quoting.
§ Example: Fridel (2022) found that a 13% increase in state levels of household gun ownership increases the incidence of mass shootings by over 50%.
